<p>I’m currently deciding between UW-Madison vs UIUC for computer science. (I was also admitted to UW-Madison’s L&S Honors Program and UIUC’s James Scholar Program.) I know that UIUC has a highly regarded CS program; however UIUC’s cost of attendance is slightly more expensive than UW-Madison. I'm a MN resident, so I pay close to in-state tuition for UW-Madison and OOS for UIUC. I don't qualify for need-based financial aid at either school, but I did receive a $12K/yr merit scholarship from UIUC as well as a tuition freeze guarantee. I haven’t heard back from merit scholarships at UW-Madison. Costwise, UW-Madison is cheaper than UIUC by about $10K/yr.</p>
<p>I visited UIUC for the first time last week. The campus was OK, but one thing I didn’t like was that its isolated location. There didn’t seem to be much outside of campus other than cornfields. I’m worried that there might not be much of a campus life. However, I understand that its CS program is top-notch and that there are plenty of resources and job and internship opportunities if I end up attending UIUC. I would consider a minor or second major, and it seems like UIUC encourages that. The technology and management minor interests me, however it’s quite competitive.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I think UW-Madison has a great campus and location. Its academics, perhaps, falls a bit short of UIUC’s. The honors program seems restrictive in regards to minors or second majors; I cannot do “honors” in a major from the College of Business or the College of Engineering. (It’s strange that UW-Madison’s CS department is a part of the College of Letters and Sciences, but I digress…) Also, UW-Madison’s CS department ranks lower than UIUC’s and might attract fewer employers, so I’m worried that my job prospects might be poorer than it would be if I attend UIUC.</p>
<p>Right now, I’m kinda stuck in finding a clear decision and I would really love your input and thoughts in this decision. Thank you.</p>
<p>tl;dr: I was admitted to both schools' honors programs, but I don't qualify for need-based aid. UIUC has better-ranked CS program and perhaps better job opportunities and I got a scholarship with a tuition freeze guarantee. However, I’m not too confident about its location. UW-Madison is cheaper by about $10K/yr and has a better campus in my opinion, however its CS department is ranked lower than UIUC’s and it may not offer as many opportunities as UIUC does.</p>
<p>I can’t comment on UW-Madison, but UIUC is a great school although the class sizes can be quiet large(Although this is true anywhere).
Illinois is really in debt so it does inflate many issues that might not occur at other schools. For example their are a large number of international students attending Illinois for this reason. In fact I recall there was an article published in the last year which talked about the absurd number of international students because they pull in the most tuition. This isn’t bad, but I believe it probably makes the school that much more competitive.</p>
<p>I had a lot of friends that graduated from Illinois and although it is a great school, the size and debt issues I believe have inflated a slight loss of internships. Many of my friends that graduated from Illinois in CS were unable to get jobs and therefore went into startup mode.</p>
<p>It is really a feeder school for tons of students of the North side of Chicago. It is definitely a party school.</p>
<p>In terms of companies based in the 2 locations.
Wisconsin(I believe Madison) has Epic(Health Care software).
Champaign, IL is certainly well known for Wolfram Technologies and the train does run from their into Chicago which has plenty of options.</p>
<p>To be fair I never attended Illinois, but my soon to be wife did for 1 year. She transferred because of two reasons.
- It felt to preppy for her.
- The campus wasn’t nice enough for the tuition and work she was putting in.</p>
<p>I’m sure some things have changed in the last couple years but I have a feeling you are going to really need to work for it at either school.</p>
<p>@arwilliams: Thanks for your input! Can you comment about their alumni networks and their presence in Silicon Valley?</p>
<p>Illinois is a great school. Bill Gates said that they recruit more people from Illinois then any other university in the wold.
I mean Oracle, Mozilla, and PayPal are all Alumni’s of the school.
Here is the Wiki if you are looking for Alumni’s <a href=“List of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign people - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Illinois_at_Urbana–Champaign_people</a></p>
<p>I had a couple friends that managed to get jobs out there in the Valley, but they were incredibly smart. Surprisingly in addition I don’t believe any where CS majors(some other engineering).</p>
<p>Two of them were international students from China that went to high school in the US and then attended Illinois.</p>
<p>Illinois is quiet interesting. For those in the Midwest it is a flagship school that is quiet amazing. For those not in the Midwest, many don’t realize how many good Alumni’s have attended there.</p>
<p>Not being an Alumni myself, I really can’t comment on the how the network works.</p>
<p>I am still hopeful an Alumni will either confirm or rebut my comments, and add some more information for you.</p>
<p>UIUC for CS + Honors would be my choice - the difference in cost will be absorbed by your salary rather quickly.
I agree that UWI hasn’t been impacted by as many budget cuts as Illinois and Madison >>> Champaign, but still. :)</p>
<p>Bumping this thread. Does anybody else want to share their opinions?</p>
<p>Biased, as parent of UW student here. Madison is an incredible college community that could be hard to pass up. As my student is in L&S, I am not familiar with the relative strength of UW Engineering and computer science compared to Illinois. How much more highly ranked would Illinois need to be for you to give up MN tuition at UW? As someone who is entirely out of state at UW, we are jealous of your MN tuition – what a bargain!</p>
<p>Folks at UW do say it is difficult to graduate in 4 years with double majors from different Schools within the University – so a double major from College of Engineering and with College of Letters & Science, for instance. Each College has its own requirements, so meeting them for two different schools in four years is tough. Double major within a single College is manageable. UW does not have minors, rather there are Certificates in various programs. </p>
<p>Can you scour the schools’ websites to find out details about accessibility of the classes you need to graduate, hiring on campus etc? Illinois has had some funding challenges, so may be worthwhile to investigate availability of prerequisite classes etc for your areas of interest. If a student might not get into the prerequisite classes right away for their area of interest, turning it into a 5 year program, that could be a consideration. </p>
<p>You are in the lucky position to have two top notch choices. Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>@Midwestmomofboys: I think that getting into the prerequisite classes isn’t going to be a big problem, especially considering that at UIUC, honors students can register for classes before other students can. As for the money/ranking differential, I’m not too sure.</p>
<p>Both are top 10 CS programs so any difference in recruiting is minor. Bill Gates also made a special visit to Madison to encourage grads to consider Microsoft. You can double major in CS and Business or Comp Sci and Engineering. But not all three. One of the few self-made female billionaires is a UW CS grad. She founded and owns Epic Systems.
<a href=“Bill Gates surprises students as “stand in” professor”>http://www.news.wisc.edu/11679</a></p>
<p>Rankings are close enough to be the same for all practical purposes. The career centers should provide employment statistics but I would guess they are going to be quite similar. UW is less expensive and you seem to like it better.</p>